“This award is presented at the annual spring luncheon to a public or academic library. The award is for establishing or improving an arts book collection, or for establishing and/or expanding a program which advances or celebrates any of the arts. The award was established to honor the late James C. Dance, who was one of the founders of the Metro-Detroit Book & Author Society, and who served as its Master of Ceremonies for 19 luncheons. Mr. Dance was the public relations coordinator of the Detroit Public Library.”

Rita Sol, a recent graduate of the Wayne State University (WSU) School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) is concerned about the plight of Michigan libraries in these difficult economic times and she is doing something about it. Rita is the volunteer host of Library Highlights, a weekly 30-minute television program that airs on the Bloomfield Township community cable BCTV network. As a forum for community dialogue, BCTV provides the perfect venue to inform the metro area public about the great libraries in the area and what they do for their communities.

As Rita notes, “Michigan needs its libraries. The good our librarians do to support the needs of the public during these financially hard times is essential to our economic recovery.”

Each week, Library Highlights features librarians from metro area libraries. Rita begins the interviews by asking her guests what motivated them to enter the library profession and what brought them to the library where they work. The second part of the interview focuses on the services and resources offered to the community. At the conclusion of the show, guests are given an opportunity to talk about future directions for their libraries.

To date, three DALNET libraries have been featured on Library Highlights: Oakland County Libraries, Oakland Community College Libraries, and the Walsh College Vollbrecht Library. As noted by Jon Campbell, Director of Vollbrecht Library and Chair, DALNET Board of Directors:

Walsh College very much appreciated the opportunity provided by BCTV to “tell our story” to the Oakland County community. The one-on-one interview format provided ample space to both describe the evolution of the library as well as remind the audience of the specialized accounting, taxation, and financial collections available to them. The occasion to highlight the Walsh College Library along with the other libraries of Oakland County was most welcome.

You can catch Library Highlights at 9:00am on Tuesdays and 4:30pm on Thursdays. Be certain to watch for future guests from DALNET Libraries: Caryn Noel, Director of the Adam Cardinal Maida Alumni Library, Alison Keller, Director of the Rochester College Ham Library, and Linea Dudley from Marygrove College.

If you would like to know more about Library Highlights or are interested in having your library featured on the program, contact Rita at ritasol7792@aol.com.

Congratulations to DALNET Board member, Alison Keller, director of Rochester College’s Ennis & Nancy Ham Library, who has recently completed a second master’s degree and has had her thesis published by VDM (Verlag Dr. Müller). The book is titled And a Little Child Shall Lead Them: Romanticism and Quakerism in Edward Hicks’ Peaceable Kingdoms. Keller is currently on the Board of Directors for DALNET and has previously served as Board Chair.

The description from Amazon.com: “Edward Hicks, the American Quaker minister and artist, painted a series of works entitled The Peaceable Kingdoms between 1820 and 1849. This series of paintings is based on the Old Testament passage Isaiah 11:6. This book explores the intersection of Quakerism and Romanticism in 19th century America which is represented in Hicks’ Peaceable Kingdoms. Romantic themes in the Peaceable Kingdom are the concept of childhood, the presence of Nature, and the ideal of the noble savage. Romanticism in 19th century America was impacted by Christian Romanticism and the development of special educational, social, and spiritual roles for children. The presence of Nature is evident through the use of animals and landscapes. A vignette of William Penn and the Indians represents Quakerism and the ideal of the noble savage. Hicks portrayed his Quaker theology and the influence of Romanticism through his Peaceable Kingdom paintings.”

“Ham Library on the campus of Rochester College is hosting an Art in the Library Reception for local artist Al Sonnenberg on Saturday March 14 from 7-9 pm. Mr Sonnenberg studied at the Center for Creative Studies focusing primarily on color, design, and drawing. He worked for a number of years in visual marketing and store planning for several retailers including Dayton Hudson in Detroit and Minneapolis. He and his wife, Linda, recently moved to Shelby Township from The Pointes. He was active in the Grosse Pointe Art Association and currently belongs to the Shelby Art Association. Mr Sonnenberg works in oil, acrylic, graphite and wood. The artist states, ‘Drawing and painting allow me to relive moments of my life, escape to any place at a moment’s notice, and see reassuring evidence of God in the world around me. The trees and waters of Michigan and northern Ontario canoe country are an inspiration to me as they must have been for Tom Thompson and the Group of Seven in the early 1990s.’ Mr Sonnenberg’s art will be on display in Ham Library through May 2009. For more information call 248-218-2268 or e-mail akeller@rc.edu.”
–From Ham Library’s Facebook page

(Rochester College Ham Library is located at 800 West Avon Rd., Rochester Hills, MI 48307).